Anthem Goes Gold, Gets New Online Lobby

BioWare Lead Producer Michael Gamble announced on Twitter that Anthem, the studio’s highly-anticipated shared-world shooter, has gone gold. That means that the launch version of the game is complete and doesn’t run risk of missing its previously announced February 22 release date.

Gamble’s announcement comes a day before the game’s VIP demo launches on PS4, Xbox One, and PC for EA/Origin Access users and pre-order customers. An open demo will be available for everyone on February 1. We previously detailed how some aspects of the demo, including balancing and the in-game economy, will differ from the final release.

In addition to announcing that the launch version of Anthem is complete, Gamble also revealed the Launch Bay, which is a social space where players can meet up before undertaking new missions to show off their unique Javelin configurations. Gamble’s tweet was light on details, but he promised that more would be shared about the Launch Bay “soon.”

Many eyes in the games industry will be watching Anthem, which is BioWare’s first new IP since Mass Effect. The game is a newcomer into the shared-world shooter genre and will be going toe-to-toe with established names like Destiny 2 and Tom Clancy’s The Division 2. It is also another step in EA’s mission to repair its relationship with gamers, who were none too happy with the publisher’s implementation of pay-to-win loot boxes in 2017’s Star Wars Battlefront II. It has already been confirmed that Anthem will not contain loot boxes of any kind and post-launch story content will be free for anyone who purchases the game.